Staci Nichols

DJ Staci Nichols is based in San Diego. She specializes in spinning “country fusion,” Latin/Spanish, and mainstream music. Her wedding know-how has appeared in San Diego Style Weddings, Offbeat Bride, Wedding Planner Magazine, Gig Masters, Brides Without Borders, Book More Brides, and more. SanDiegoDJStaci.com. Instagram/Facebook/Pinterest/Twitter: SanDiegoDJStaci

Of course, there is no "black & white" right or wrong way to deliver a welcome speech (or even the requirement that you do a welcome speech). However, after studying some of the greats in the mobile DJ industry like Mark Ferrell and Randy Bartlett, I learned that welcome speeches are an important ingredient. Why? Nobody wants to hear the DJ blathering on, right? True, but you can deliver a welcome speech to build rapport with the crowd...and do it without blabbing.
[caption id="attachment_110982" align="alignleft" width="200"] (c) Anna Delores Photography[/caption]
WHY DO A WELCOME SPEECH
You'll be the capt... [read more]

Remember at the Scratch Academy when they taught us how to speak on the microphone? Yea, me neither. You wouldn't roll up to an event with the intention of “winging it” when it comes to mixing the music...so why do so many of us think we don't need any official microphone training to show up at an event and MC?

There is a right and wrong way to hold a microphone. After years as a full-time mobile DJ (and a debate scholarship...again, no mic lessons at debate camp either), I found myself in Mark Ferrell's Bronze MCing workshop. Finally, someone taught me how to hold a microphone...apparently, I'd been gripping it too hard and making an angry fist shape with my hand, which is frowned upon by the experts. We don't want to look like the mic needs an aggressive beat-down.read more]

To review the first two super simple song remix ideas, check out Part One.

Simple Song Remix #3 - Acapella Version + Instrumental Version

You'll find that it's not too hard to locate studio acapella versions of songs from singers that can really sing (Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Justin Bieber, etc). Acapella versions of songs will not have any beats, so matching them up to "the one" on an instrumental version can be tricky. Do your research and use your ear as a guide. Check out the “Rather Be” (Clean Bandit) v. “September” (Earth, Wind, & Fire) mash-up by oneboredjea on YouTube for an example.

Having more tools in the DJ toolbox is always helpful, and—believe it or not—there are some really simple song remixes that even the most beginner level DJs can do to improve their sets. Pre-recording custom song remixes is great for beginners because you can stay focused on beatmatching and mixing while working the event but still deliver a few crowd-pleasing surprises.

Simple Song Remix #1 – Instrumental Version Mash-Up

If you are not a member of a DJ pool, you'll want to start there. I use and recommend DigitalDJPool.com. Yes, there are some instrumental versions of songs on YouTube but proper DJ pools are legal and have better selection at higher quality.

Remember how “The Jetsons” had that automated kitchen? Well, that's going to be you with social media from now on! What if I told you you could do all your social media posting in just one day out of the month and spend the other 29 days not worrying about it? You just need the right tools. Please step into the Jetson's social media kitchen with me now...
#1 AUTOMATE YOUR POSTS
Yep! Just schedule your social media posts the same way you can with blog posts or calendar reminders. Check out, for example, one of the most popular and established social media automation platforms, Hoot Suite, to see what's up. In a nutshell, you connect your ... [read more]

C’mon Staci...isn’t everyone else already doing this?” Ehhh...if they are doing it, they likely are not doing it well. Let’s not allow PopSugar and BuzzFeed to beat us at our own game (they make tons of popular wedding playlists on Pinterest). DJs make better playlists than bloggers, right? Well, we will now!
CREATE A UNICORN PLAYLIST
The internet has started burping up generic Garter Toss and Cake Cutting song playlists because it is too full of them. You are going to have to dig deeper. The single most popular playlist I ever created was “34 Gringo-Friendly Spanish Dance Songs for an Intercultural Mexican Wedding.” Is that specific enoug... [read more]

But Staci, Instagram is for photographers, hair stylists, and make-up artists, isn’t it?” Kindly direct your eyes to the screenshots showing how I booked Robin’s wedding by simply searching #SanDiegoWedding on Instagram, leaving a non-spammy comment on her post about venue shopping, and having a non-salesy profile that resonated with her (i.e. not a “gig log” or a bunch of promotional flyers). And did I mention she’s definitely an ideal client, her wedding is in November 2018, and I’m the first vendor she has booked? OK, so now that I have your full attention...
Wedding photographers have pretty much all heard of the legendary Jasmine Star.... [read more]

Before putting this 30 Day Twitter Challenge together, I went to The Knot’s DJ page for my locality and saw who had Twitter links on their profile. Of the less than half who did, I checked out their Twitter pages.
I mostly saw DJs who tweeted 10x a year, had not bothered to put up a cover image, and who just plain didn’t “get” Twitter (improperly formatted tweets, no followers, etc). Then I went to Twitter and searched “San Diego DJ.” My SEO-savvy, on-page-one-of-Google DJ friend Charlie Walkrich and I were the only direct results...that’s it—just two of us. None of the DJs I’d just seen on The Knot were anywhere to be found.
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Buses, movie theaters, hotels... What do they have in common? None of them charge the same price for a Saturday night as they do for a Tuesday morning. Buses have peak fares for rush hour travel. Movie theaters offer matinees to encourage movie-goers to fill up seats during non-busy times. Hotels, the true masters of maximizing their “prime times,” charge more for short notice bookings, holidays, summer vacations, and weekends. If it works for these mega-industries, there must be something to it!
ECONOMICS 101
I'm a big fan of maximizing some Economics 101 principles to boost my income...just like the above examples. I believe in a healthy balance of “get... [read more]

Like it or not, the DJ often times is left responsible for organizing and coordinating events that we DJ.
Last month, one of my brides hired a corporate event planner to do the day-of coordination at her wedding. When the coordinator wasn’t at the rehearsal and was using my DJ outline (instead of creating her own), I knew we shouldn’t expect much from her during the wedding. Where was she as the wedding party needed to be cued to walk down the aisle? Who knows? After she failed to coordinate the pouring of the champagne after repeated reminders, the bride asked me to take over. And, by then, I was ready to do so as well (the toasts were almost an ho... [read more]